Improv Conspiracy Blog

Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” is a classic banger about a highly relevant issue: performing despite feeling nervous. It’s true, nerves can be incredibly debilitating. Trust me, I know! Showing up to my first ever workshop at The Improv Conspiracy (TIC) in late 2017, I did so many nervous wees beforehand I was almost late.

As an improviser, actor and acting coach, I am constantly surrounded by nerves: my own and those of others. I have learnt so much about performing under pressure and in doing so have helped many performers push through the nerves and book amazing acting jobs (despite them or I sweating profusely). Before every show I do at the TIC theatre, I still get butterflies. In this blog post I’d like to share with you how I deal with nerves, in the hopes it helps you enter your first improv workshop, or your upcoming audition with ease.

When I started at The Improv Conspiracy Theatre in November 2015, I could count all the performers of colour on one hand… actually one finger… the answer is one. There was exactly one person of colour on the TIC stage (shout out to my improv sifu Kay Chan!). Beyond that, the only other people of colour in the entire student community were my classmates – two of whom joined me to form Yolk Yolk Yolk, the first ever non-white improv team in Australia*.

I've learned a lot in my ten years of improvising, and the most important lesson for a control freak like me is that improv isn't an art form that allows for solo success: your only hope to succeed is by working with a team of people you trust and respect, honouring their contributions and generally trying to make them look like geniuses along the way. Trying to dominate a scene or a Harold by yourself is almost certainly a recipe for disaster. We've all seen (or even been) different shades of that guy on stage... and it's never good.

As we've ramped up our efforts in corporate improv education, it's really sunk in that some of the basic tenets of improv have obvious implications in the business world too. I can see now that one of the biggest things preventing this company and community from reaching their full potential is my need to hold on tightly to every aspect of how things are run around here. Solo micromanagement in all areas helped get this beautiful experiment off the ground, but now it's time to graciously ask for help.

Luckily, I'm surrounded by some seriously lovely and talented people who believe in this place, and have accepted permanent senior positions with The Improv Conspiracy Theatre. Let's meet them!

It's our fifth consecutive year of participation in the Melbourne Fringe Festival, and we're thrilled to celebrate by giving away three weeks of FREE TICKETS to our fans new and old. Between Thursday September 14th and Sunday October 1st you can pick any exciting show from our calendar and bring your mates and dates to see it for free.

There are no prebookings. Each show's physical tickets will be handed out at our box office starting 60 minutes before showtime. Come down early, grab some tickets, and enjoy a drink with us or another one of the awesome businesses in Meyers Place.

(Want something approaching full-time income from TIC? The person in this role would be strongly considered to fill any teaching, coaching, and corporate training opportunities as they arise…)

The Improv Conspiracy Theatre’s mission is to foster and showcase the best improv and comedy in Australia. We host over 12 hours of original comedy content every week, on Thursday-Sunday nights, split between in-house productions and shows produced by external stakeholders. We seek a new management-level hire to help with the day-to-day operations of the theatre, and the execution of the Artistic Director’s vision, both of which grow increasingly complex as our audience sizes and our community of performers expand.